I voted in the primaries and I will be voting in November this year. I will not be telling anyone with whom I am not personally close what to do regarding this November vote. What I will be doing is pointing to one personal experience and trying to find a conclusion from it. Please take a look at the voter turnout in Romania after 1989 (the year when Ceausescu, the communist dictator, was arrested and executed). Overtly, these numbers speak of disillusion. Covertly, they speak of lack of mature political thought, manipulation of a fragile, barely recovering from the terrors of a totalitarian regime, country, and, to a degree, of national angst. By the time you begin seeing the rebound in attendance, the ghost of communism, which had continued to lurk in the recesses of society all these years, has put on the new clothes of globalism . . . and "won" again. Almost four decades have passed, and Romania has not seen one generation of principled politicians or proper economic guidance. The country has not had one chance to gain a modicum of sovereignty in this world which has made anathema of any tendency to mind national interests only, and to negotiate relationships with neighbors in good faith, but only inasmuch as there is benefit for one's country. I was still there when the decline of trust and hope was most acute. I know what it is like to feel that it is all futile and to abandon the vote. I see it all now as one of the most painful manifestations of a diseased world, one infested by corrupted femininity—one in which few men remain who understand that abandoning the responsibility to lead the polis is not at all a manly trait. So I, a mere woman who wishes a return to a world where men are godly men, and women are God-fearing women, will be voting this November, as I have been doing for a while, as a most grateful American citizen, because, if our men were to remain silent, the very stones would cry out.

My three favorite literary characters: Odysseus Fingolfin, First High King of the Noldor (The Silmarillion) Coltaine, leader of the Wickan Crow Clan and Fist of the Malazan 7th Army (Malazan Book of the Fallen series) Below: some of my favorite fan art representations for these amazing characters.

Indeed. (Click to listen and watch one of the best Shakespeare performances I have ever seen).

Pray. How else will you know yourself, and how else will you know the Lord? "Prayer discovers to us the true state of our soul, for, according to theologians, it is the mirror which shows us our correct portrait."

You have heard on repeat that US is backwards and Europe is leading civilization into the next era (as if man can do anything to time). Like the serpent of evil, France it's eating its own past and its own future. This is the next era, if you allow for it to happen here as well. This is what happens when godly fear, hard work, family and national values, and an understanding of one's sacred calling in life are abandoned or, even worse, destroyed as societal concepts.

Europe has always been one cautionary tale after another.

Elon and America reveal the flying car. Macron:

Ask Elon to build you flying police cars to match. 😬

"'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth His handy-work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.' [Psalm 18 (19)] This silent but evident declaration of the heavens of their creation by the Almighty has reached even us, and there is no language or dialect in which this declaration is not understood. And now, since the time of the Incarnation of the Son of God, all the glory of God, the glory of His love towards mankind, as well as the glory of creation, is declared unto us by the Gospel and the Holy Church; by the voices of the preachers of the Gospel; by those who celebrate the Sacraments and prayers; that is, the priests, readers, and singers; by the sound of bells, not excluding also the preaching of the heavens with their luminaries. But the preaching of the living voice is more lively, more intelligible and striking. The glory of the Lord is declared by all the earth, and by all earthly beings." (St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ)

Look around at the breathtaking circle of life and know that every second is pregnant with eternity. Glory to God, Who has allowed us chronos, and Who has gifted us kairos!

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."

"The longer I watch the world, the more I see Thee and the less I see of the world; the longer I listen to the noise of the world, the less I hear the noise of the world and the more I hear Thy still voice; the more I sin, the better I know that sin is neither my path nor goal, but Thee, O Source of light. Like a sleepwalker who walks on the edge of the roof yet does not fall, steadied by the moon, so I too walk on the edge of the abyss of non-existence, and steadied by Thee I do not fall. Neighbours who do not know Thee arouse me, saying: 'Awake from a dream into reality, the abyss is below thee, deep and ravenous.' O prisoners, so long was I imprisoned in your prison of reality; now freedom has entered me and my dream is now my reality and my only salvation; you are observing the moon reflected in the lake, thinking you are closer to it than I, whom am looking at it in the sky. Which is closer? – the light on the cupola of the cosmos or its shadow beside your feet. Jesus, Upholder of the world, Thou art closer to me than all the dancing shadows at my feet." (Ikos 12 of the same akhatist—can you recognize which image is being perfected here?)

Yes, St. John's words may seem difficult to follow, but isn't so all advice regarding living our lives for Christ? It is much easier to live worldly lives; we somehow expect that, while excluding virtue when we make the most important decision of our adult lives, we can still avoid falling away from God. Of course God's mercy is endless, and we can still find our way after much sorrow, but why blindly choose the path of most difficulty when it comes to salvation? More from St. John Chrysostom, this time addressing young men who are looking for wives: "But the love having begun on just grounds, still continues ardent, since its object is beauty of soul, and not of body. What better, tell me, than heaven? What better than the stars? Tell me of what body you will, yet is there none so fair. Tell me of what eyes you will, yet are there none so sparkling. When these were created, the very Angels gazed with wonder, and we gaze with wonder now; yet not in the same degree as at first. Such is familiarity; things do not strike us in the same degree. How much more in the case of a wife! And if moreover disease come too, all is at once fled. Let us seek in a wife affectionateness, modest-mindedness, gentleness; these are the characteristics of beauty. But loveliness of person let us not seek, nor upbraid her upon these points, over which she has no power, nay, rather, let us not upbraid at all, (it were rudeness,) nor let us be impatient, nor sullen. Do ye not see how many, after living with beautiful wives, have ended their lives pitiably, and how many, who have lived with those of no great beauty, have run on to extreme old age with great enjoyment. Let us wipe off the spot that is within, let us smooth the wrinkles that are within, let us do away the blemishes that are on the soul. Such is the beauty God requires. Let us make her fair in God's sight, not in our own. Let us not look for wealth, nor for that high-birth which is outward, but for that true nobility which is in the soul. Let no one endure to get rich by a wife; for such riches are base and disgraceful; no, by no means let any one seek to get rich from this source. For they that desire to be rich, fall into a temptation and a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts, and into destruction and perdition. Seek not therefore in your wife abundance of wealth, and you shall find everything else go well. Who, tell me, would overlook the most important things, to attend to those which are less so? And yet, alas! This is in every case our feeling. Yes, if we have a son, we concern ourselves not how he may be made virtuous, but how we may get him a rich wife; not how he may be well-mannered, but well-monied: if we follow a business, we enquire not how it may be clear of sin, but how it may bring us in most profit. And everything has become money; and thus is everything corrupted and ruined, because that passion possesses us."

When it comes to marriage advice, I'll go to St. John Chrysostom and to my spiritual father. As a mother, this is my prayer to the Lord, for my daughter: "Whomsoever You will, do Thou provide." Parents lovingly providing support for the courtship should not be a matter of times past. Truth and goodness do not depend on the whims of men. "First seek a husband for the virgin, who will be truly a husband, and a protector; as though thou were intending to place a head upon a body; as though about to give not a slave, but a daughter into his hands. Seek not money, nor splendor of family, nor greatness of country; all these things are superfluous; but piety of soul, gentleness, the true understanding, the fear of God, if you wish your darling to live with pleasure. For if you seek a wealthier husband, not only will you not benefit her, but you will even harm her, by making her a slave instead of free. For the pleasure she will reap from her golden trinkets will not be so great as will be the annoyance that comes of her slavery. I pray you, seek not these things, but most of all, one of equal condition; if however this cannot be, rather one poorer than in better circumstances; if at least thou be desirous not of selling your daughter to a master, but of giving her to a husband. When you have thoroughly investigated the virtue of the man, and art about to give her to him, beseech Christ to be present: for He will not be ashamed to be so; it is the mystery of His presence. Yea rather beseech Him even in the first instance, to grant her such a suitor. Be not worse than the servant of Abraham, who, when sent on a pilgrimage so important, saw whither he ought to have recourse; wherefore also he obtained everything. When you are taking anxious pains, and seeking a husband for her, pray; say unto God, whomsoever You will do Thou provide: into His hands commit the matter; and He, honored in this way by you, will requite you with honor. Two things indeed it is necessary to do; to commit the thing into His hands, and to seek such an orderly person as He Himself approves." (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 12 on Colossians).

There are still families who have raised their children this way. May the Lord provide, in His great and loving mercy! It would be wonderful to see again Christians understanding marriage as a common path towards the salvation of the spouses and for the upbringing of saints.

I do not know why I have waited for so long to read this book. Now, that I am finally reading it, I find myself tearing up contemplating the Lord's Providence provided to us through His unseen powers. Here is a wonderful advice that Mother Alexandra gives after focusing on the story of Balaam, the prophet of God (who needs serious intervention by the Angel of the Lord to stop in his tracks and listen to the Lord rather than his own will—painfully familiar situation for me). "When beset by contradictory currents and plagued by hindrances of every sort, we often do not know how in reality to interpret them. Are they a sign that we have taken a wrong turn, or are we simply being tempted to give in and take the line of least spiritual resistance as we seek the easy way out? At such times, we should confidently turn to our guardian angel to counsel us. He will answer our prayer."

Read this carefully. See what unmeasurable treasure we have. Pray. "Prayer in itself may be termed a holy familiarity, a sacred union of man with God; but, considered with respect to its efficacy, we may call it the support and conservation of the world, the reconciliation of man with God, the mother of holy fear, the daughter of compunction, the mediatrix in the remission of sin, the bridge which conducts us in safety over the torrent of temptation, the rampart proof against the miseries and afflictions of this life, our champion against the spirits of darkness, the daily exercise and employment of the angels, the spiritual manna which nourishes the mind, the joy of the blessed in heaven."

Pray. "The first degree of prayer consists in being able to expel at first sight the distractions calculated to dissipate the mind. The second degree consists in confining our minds to the meditation of the words in the prayers which we are reciting. But the last and most perfect degree is the joy of the soul, the enrapture of the mind in God. There is a difference between the joy experienced in prayer by religious persons praying together in community, and that felt by solitaries during their devotions in their cells. The former may be somewhat liable to vanity by the sight and presence of their brethren, but the latter is tempered by humility, as coming from the presence of God alone, and without any witnesses but God and His angels. If by continual vigilance you labour to preserve your minds from distracting thoughts, you will be recollected even when at table. But if you give your minds full liberty to wander in quest of distraction and dissipation, you will not be able to rein them in when you wish." St. John Climacus

If our mastery relies entirely on the tools we use, then we have not achieved mastery but slavery. Peter Paul Rubens' Fall of Icarus